Collapsible self-supporting core



'RL FULLER Aug. 29, 1967v COLLAPS IBLE SELF-SUPPORTING CORE 3 Sheets-Sheet 'l Filed Jan.

@QQW

Aug. 29, 1367 R, FUQER 3,338,546

COLLAPSI BLE SELF- SUPPORTING CORE Filed Jan. 25, 1965 l 3 Sheets-sheet i:

IIIIIIIIIIIIIP r INVENTORA PEV/o V/C/LE/e.

.ATTORNEY ug. 29, 1967 R, FULLER 3,338,546

COLLAPSIBLE SELF-SUPPORTING GORE Filed Jan. 25, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 97 29 L L 9a w Z4 INVENTOR. I6

'6,9' 7 @Ew/ o FDL LEA.

v ATTORNEY.

United States Patent Office 3 ,338,546 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 3,338,546 COLLAPSIBLE SELF-SUPPORTING CORE Revilo Fuller, 413 W. Northview, Phoenix, Ariz. 85021 Filed Jan. 25, 1965, Ser. No. 427,561 1 Claim. (Cl. 249-178) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A continuous concrete pipe laying machine which travels along la pre-dug trench while receiving plastic concrete mud or other suitable material and distributes it around a multi-section collapsible withdrawable core to automatically form a continuous pipe in the bottom of the trench as the machine is moved along in the trench.

This invention pertains to improvements in a continuous pipe laying machine.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a machine for continuously forming a pipe of concrete in a previously dug trench, such, for example, as shown in my Patent 2,969,576 issued Ian. 31, 1961.

Another object is to provide a continuous concrete pipe laying machine which travels along in a trench and which receives the plastic concrete mud or other suitable material and automatically forms a continuous pipe thereof in the bottom of the trench as the machine is moved along in the trench.

Still another object is to provide a continuous concrete pipe laying machine with special and superior means for presenting the collapsible cores in position in the formed pipes as the machine progresses along the trench.

It is a further object of this invention to provide in the pipe laying machine -aforementioned a semi-circular cylindrical member which serves to support the collapsible core during the supply and tamping of the cement around it as received from the hopper of the machine and which member also serves to trowel the bottom half of the inside of the formed pipe and then to allow the longi- -tudinally held core to be supportably presented on the troweled surface to support the top plastic portion until set.

It is also an object to form 4a continuous concrete pipe having a particular cross section shape to improve the distribution of the concrete during the setting up period and to provide a finish pipe of greater strength and rigidity when completed.

Another object of this invention is to continuously cast a concrete pipe in a pre-dug ditch while using a sectional pre-set inner core over which travels the pipe forming machine in forming the pipe.

And a further object is to provide a continuous pipe laying machine and system adapted to small as well as large pipe in which an inner core is automatically presented in the poured pipe and which core can be automatically released from the pipe after it has set up by release mechanism operable from one end of the finish pipe line without the necessity of a person crawling into the pipe.

And a still further object is to provide a pipe casting machine utilizing a continuous sectional inner core having self-contained spreader mechanism for automatically expanding and contracting the continuous core from outside of the case pipe without the necessity of using loose spreader braces manually placed in the inner core as in former devices.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a pipe casting machine as described above in which the lower half of the pipe is poured independent of the collapsible inner core following which step the top half of the pipe is poured around said inner core while it is supported on its lower portion and then slid off on the bottom half of the bore of the cast pipe.

Further features and advantages of this invention will appear from a detailed description of the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a left hand side elevation `of a continuous concrete pipe laying machine incorporating the features of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. l.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the machine indicated by the line 3 3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation of the machine indicated by the line 4 4 in FIG. l.

FIG. 5 is a vertical transverse section on the line 5 5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a vertical transverse section on the line 6 6 of FIG. l.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical longitudinal section on the line 7 7 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section on the line 8 8 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one of the members of the continuous sectional cores. n

In this invention there is rst formed a pre-dug ditch having an arcuate bottom 10 shaped to conform to the outside of the lower half 11 of the cast pipe, and having vertically disposed parallel sides 12 and 13 extending upwardly to ground level 14. The machine comprises a guide portion 15 having a semi-cylindrical bottom 16 and upstanding sides 17 and 18 slidingly engaging the bottom and sides of the pre-dug ditch. To the rearend of the guide portion 15 is lixed a laterally disposed vertical baffle 19. On the front of the guide portion 15 is provided a hitch connection 20 to which a towing cable 21 may be attached for pulling the machine along in the ditch during the pipe laying operation. Preferably, the front edge 22 of the guide portion 15 is turned inwardly at 23 to facilitate sliding of the device in the ditch without picking up dirt from the sides and bottom of the ditch.

Fixed to but spaced from the semi-cylindrical bottom 16 of the guide portion 15 is the core support member 24 having an arcuate shape conforming to thelower half 25 of the bore of the completed pipe. It will be noted that this core support member 24 extends for the front edge 22 of the guide portion 15 through the circular opening 26 formed in the baffle '19 to the rear end 27 of the machine; the bottom surface 28 of the core support member 24 rearwardly of the baifie 19 being spaced from the .bottom 10 of the pre-dug ditch so as to form the desired thickness for the bottom half of the pipe and to eifectively trowel the lower half` of the pipe bore as the machine travels along the ditch.

In order to supply the plastic cement mud to the machine there is provided a hopper 29 comprising the sides 30 and 31 xed to and extending rearwardly of the baffle 19 and connected at their rear edges to the rear transverse baffle 32. Rigidly fixed to and extending rearwardly from the rear transverse baile 32 is the semi-cylindrical top troweling member 33 having its inner concave surface 34 positioned to form the outside surface 35 of the top half of the pipe, the member 33 extending rearwardly to the rear edge 27 of the machine. The rear transverse bale 32 extends downwardly and terminates at the lower edges 37 of the top troweling member 33 and has an `arcuate cut-out passageway 38 aligned -with the inner concave surface 34 of the top troweling member.

Intermediate the baille 19 and the rear transverse bale 32 is a transverse partition 39 rigidly lixed to the sides 30 and 31 of the hopper 29. This partition 39 has a semicircular cut-out 40 in its lower edge just slightly larger than the bore of the pipe and preferably has a flexible seal 41 fixed around its edge which engages the upper half portion 42 of the core members 43 to prevent iiow of liquid cement through the cut-out 40; the partition 39 terminating at its lower edge 44 with this portion of the sides 30 and 31 of the hopper.

Between the bale 19 and the partition 39 is fixed a pair of divergently sloping plates 45 and 46, FIG. 5, connected together at an apex 47 and extending downwardly and merging with side plates 48 and 49 whose lower edges are rigidly fixed to the upper edges of the core support member 24 at the points 5i) so as to form a completely enclosed tunnel between the bafiie 19 and the partition 39 for relative sliding of the core members therethrough as the machine travels along the ditch. It will be noted that between the baffle 19 and the partition 39 the rear end of the guide portion slopes upwardly as indicated at 51, 52, 53 and 54 to aid in the distribution and smooth flow of the concrete into the lower half of the ditch. Also, stabilizing rods and turn buckles 55a may be provided between the upper portions of the rear transverse baffle 32 and the outer end of the top troweling member 33 if required.

In conjunction with the operation of this machine there is provided a continuous self-supporting core apparatus which relatively slides along on the concave upper surface of core support member 24. This core apparatus is formed from a series of core members 43, FIG. 9, each comprising a cylindrical shell 55 having a longitudinal slit 56 formed between the turned-in edges 57 located to the bottom of the core members 43 when in use. CutaWay portions 58 are formed in the rear edge 59 of each core member 43 so that the rear edges 59 of each core member 43 can be slipped over the front edges 60 of the core behind it and moved a limited longitudinal distance thereover as permitted by the longitudinal depth of the cut-outs 5S. Adjacent the front edge 60 inside each of the core members 43 is an expanding and contracting spider device 61 comprising a hub 62 pivotally connected by suitable pins 63 to the inner ends of links 64 having their outer ends pivotally connected by pins 65 to suitable brackets 66 fixed to the inside surface 67 of the shell 55 so that Vthe spider may move longitudinally to expand and retract the shell. Also fixed to the hub 62 is a radially extending arm 68 which is adapted to engage the stop piece 69 xed to the inside surface 67 of the vshell 55 so as to position the spider in fully expanded position of the shell as shown in FIG. 7, when moved from retracted position 61a. A control and interlocking ,rod 70 is pivotally mounted at its rear end on a lug 71 formed integral with the hub 62 of the .spider device 61 for swinging in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis 72 and has a turned-over portion 73 on its other end which is adapted to be inserted in a horizontally disposed hole formed'in a lug 74 projecting from the rear of the hub 62 of the next forward core member when assembled therewith.

In using the core members 43, the rst one, 43a, usually has a spider 61h, FIG. 7, at its rear end also which is expanded and locked against any longitudinal movement by securely holding the control rod 70a which also holds the first core against longitudinal movement. This iirst core 43a and subsequent cores are slid through the unit positioned in the ditch, hooked up by the rods 70 `and pushed together by the overlap of the edges 59-60 as described, which action causes rod 70 to straighten out the spider from position 61a to the full line position shown in FIG. 7, firmly locking the core members together ywith the slits 56 on the bottom. It should be noted that the assembly of the core members 43 is not limited to those supportable on the core'support member 24 of the machine, but these cores may be assembled along the entire length of the ditch prior to the passage of the machine so that no piece-by-piece assembly of the core is required as the machine progresses. To this end the. machine is provided with an upwardly sloping lip 36 on the front edge of the core supporting member 24 and a positioning key 75 having a tapered nose portion 76 fixed on the upper concave surface 77 at the front end of the core supporting member 24 so that as the machine moves through the ditch, with the cores 43 assembled and held against longitudinal movement, the lip 36 and key 75 will automatically orient and guide the core assembly in proper position through the machine during the pouring operation to thus greatly speed up the pipe laying operation. After the concrete of the formed pipe in the ditch has set up, it is merely necessary to pull on the control rod 70 (to the left in FIG. 7) of the last core 43 at the end last completed with the result that each respective spider is progressively moved to retracted position 61a to thus retract and release the core members which may be thus readily pulled out in a string of units to completely remove all core members `and without any one having to enter the pipe to disengage the forms, which of course would be impossible in small diameter pipe to which this device is especially well adapted.

With the cores assembled in the machine ready for the forming operation as above described, plastic concrete and the like of suitable consistency and body is supplied at 78 filling the front compartment 79 and the rear compartment of the hopper 29. The supply of material from the front compartment 79 flows down the sloping plates 45 and 46 in the bottom thereof and then down between the sides 3i] and 31 of the hopper and the side plates 48 and 49 to fill the space between the bottom 10 of the ditch and the bottom surface 28 of the core support member 24, the lower edges 44 of the .partition39 screeding off the material as the machine is pulled along in the ditch to complete the lower half of the pipe.

`In the rear compartment 80 the material is being presented directly against the top half 42 of the core members 43 as they emerge from the cut-out 40 and seal 41 and also against the top edges of the material just poured forming the lower half of the pipe. As the machine progresses the edge 81 of the passageway 38 in the rear transverse baffle 32 screeds off the top outside surface of the upper half of the poured pipe, the top troweling lmember 33 completing this surface to proper finish, thus completing the pipe structure. As the cores 43 relatively pass out `from the rear end 27 of the core support member 24, they come in contact with and rest on the bottom troweled portion of the poured pipe and thereby support the upper portion of the poured pipe until it has set, ready to remove the forms as described above.

In certain instances where the material requires it, suitable agitating or tampers may be utilized. Such tamping devices may comprise the downwardly extending tamper bars 82 and 83 which are rigidly fixed to the vertically reciprocatable yoke bars 84 connected together by the lateral bar 85 mounted on a suitable guide rode 86 vertically slidable in the :guide lbore 87 in the bracket 88 fixed to the baffle 19. A suitable drive motor 89, FIG. 1, mounted on the baffle 19 has an output shaft 90 and a sprocket 91 over which operates a chain 9-2 which in turn drives a sprocket 93 fixed to a shaft 94 journaled in a bracket 95 suitably fixed to the baflie 19. The other end of the shaft 94 has a disc 96 fixed thereto and a crankpin 97 on said disc is pivotally connected by a link 98 to the lateral bar 85 so that operation of the engine 89 effects vertical reciprocation of the tamper bars 82 and 83. The tam-per bars 82 have tamping feet 99 located in the space between sides 30 and 31 of the hopper and the side plates 48 and 49 to facilitate the firm compaction of the `concrete in the lower half 11 of the pipe while the tamper bars 83 have tamping feet 100 on their lower ends located between the sides 30 and 3l o-f the hopper and the upper half 42 of the core emerging from the partition 39 so as to get good compaction of the concrete for the upper ha'lf of the pipe.

While the apparatus herein disclosed and :described constitutes a preferred form .of the invention, it is also to be understood that the apparatus is capable of mechanical alteration without departing from the spirit of t-he invention and that such mechanical arrangement and commercial adaptation as fall within the scope of the appendent claim are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully set forth and .described this invention what is claimed and desired to be obtained by United States Letters Patent is:

A collapsible self-supporting core apparatus vfor a continuous pipe laying machine comprising in combination:

(A) a series of core members having front and rear edges each consisting of,

(B) a cylindrical shell having a longitudinal slit,

(C) turned in edges located to the bottom of the core members when in use,

(D) cut-away portions formed in the rear edge of each core so that the rear edges of each core member slip over the front edge of the core member behind it -and having limited longitudinal movement thereover as determined by the longitudinal depth of said cutaway portion,

(E) an expanding and contracting spider device adjacent the front edge of each core member including,

(F) a hub,

(G) radially disposed links pivotally connected at their inner ends to said hub,

(H) brackets xed to the inside of said core member and pivotally connected to the outer ends of said links so that relative longitudinal movement of said spider and said core member eifects expansion and contraction of said core member,

(I) a radially exten-ding arm xed at its inner end to said hub,

(I) a stop pie-ce xed to the inside of said core member adapted to be engaged by the outer end of said arm so as to position said spider in fully expanded position of said core,

(K) a control and interlocking rod pivotally mounted at its rear end on said hub for swinging in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis on said hub,

(L) and a horizontally disposed turned over portion on the other end of said rod adapted to be inserted in a horizontally disposed hole for-med in the rear of said hub of the next forward core member when assembled therewith.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 859,681 7/1907 Morris 249-179 948,539 2/1910 Clark 249-179 1,442,691 1/ 1923 'Lyman 249-179 1,530,283 3/1925 Nelson 249-180 1,618,647 2/1927 Flam 249-179 2,387,815 10/ 1945 Troiel 249-179 2,731,698 1/ 1956 Tunsen 25-32 2,969,576 1/1961 Fuller 25-32 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,006,879 1/ 1952 France.

I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER Primary Examiner. R. D. BALDWIN, Assistwnt Examiner. 

